7 Days
by Jazz7
Summary: It doesn't take seven days to span a river, but a lifetime to keep from drowning. These are stories within stories. Stories about life, loss, and about the other certainty besides death and taxes—love. LxK
1. Monday

**Author's Notes:** Happy Valentine's Day. How are you all doing? As for myself, not too good. I'm suppose to be writing an essay/book report, but I'm avoiding it. And I'm getting sucked in to all kinds of programs and things that I didn't even really want to take. Want some advice for college? Don't let people talk you into clubs and organizations and classes, even if they seem sincere, they're not. Okay? Just trying to help. Otherwise you'll be like me and stuck in two classes you didn't want to take and forced into two organizations which you wished you had never heard of.

Anyway, this chapter is finally out. I'm sorry it has taken so long. And look! It's almost spring already. Do you capitalize "spring" or do you just leave it. I think that is one of the greatest questions of mankind.

There is so many things going on, and so much fan fiction that I want to write (and not just for Inuyasha or FFU) that I'm constantly excited. But I'm also worried about my audience. A lot of people are afraid of something new, and my ideas are evolutionary and sometimes don't have much to do with the canon. But, if you stick with me, you'll get extraordinary fan fiction of the likes you have never seen before.  
I'm only arrogant when it comes to writing. Remember that.

This time I'm bringing to you an all new story: _It Doesn't Take Seven Days to Love You_ or "7 Days".

Summary: It doesn't take seven days to span a river, but a lifetime to keep from drowning.

These are stories within stories. Stories about life, loss, and about the other certainty besides death and taxes—love. LxK

Like my fan fiction _Four Seasons_, 7 Days takes place over a certain time period—in this case 7 days, or a week. Which is shorter than _Four Seasons_ because FS is taking place over all four seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) and "7" doesn't have four chapters per season: equaling 16 chapters.

Instead "7" will have seven chapters, beginning with this chapter (Monday) and ending on Sunday.

As for the time period, 7 Days will span all of FFU, including the 1st and 2nd seasons and FFU: After. And it won't be in order, so you can read Tuesday before Monday and so forth.

To break away from my current trend, these stories will range anywhere from funny, to thought provoking, to dramatic. But no matter which way they fall, I hope that these will be easier to read than my previous attempts at FFU fan fiction.

I hope you all enjoy this, I know I will.

Happy trails.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFU. That is owned by Square Enix and whoever animated it. I just own the plot.

* * *

"It Doesn't Take Seven Days to Love You..."

--7 Days--

Monday

"38.9 C°. Yep, it's official, you're sick."  
Lisa shook her head and waved the thermometer in her right hand, hoping that like pregnancy tests the results could be changed by violent movement.

But just like those tests, nothing changed.

"Does this mean mister has to stay in bed?" Ai asked hopefully, not sympathetically. There was a grin on her face that Lisa didn't like, but couldn't do anything about. Ai and Yu had been kind enough to give them a place to stay and forgive her for lying to them about her mission and herself.

"_Well, not everything was a lie..."_ Lisa thought ruefully. _"I do have a boyfriend... Or did anyway."_

Pushing away those thoughts, Lisa stood up and shooed the children from the room.

"Come on now, you guys will catch it too."

"But what about you?" Yu asked, clearly worried. "Won't you get sick?"  
Lisa smiled. "Of course not. The agency gave me a vaccine for everything, even allergies. Now you two go on, I'll take care of Kaze."  
Ai smiled, and was about to make a joke about Kaze's condition until Lisa pushed both Yu and Ai out of the room and turned back to Kaze.  
Instead of being in bed, he was attempting to hobble out the door along with Ai and Yu.

"You're suppose to be in bed."  
Clearly, Kaze had never heard of the word "sick" before.

"Look, don't make it any worse than it has to be."  
Kaze just glared at her as Lisa advanced toward him with a bottle of medicine.

In another world, and if they were Mexican wrestlers, this would be funny. Maybe even hilarious. But Lisa wasn't laughing. If Kaze wanted to play "20 Rings of Death" he could play it alone. Alone and in better health.

He thought he was invincible, and that was the trouble with men. They didn't like to be wrong.

Lisa smiled, it came out as a grimace. "Do we have to bring out the straitjacket, or are you going to stop being such a baby about this and get back in bed?"

To her astonishment, Kaze did as he was told.  
Lisa, confident in her ability to make him obey, turned for the spoon to administer the medicine only to find it...

Gone.  
Frustrated, Lisa turned back to Kaze only to see him dispose of it to his Magun like a magic trick.

"I don't even want to know what you're going to do with that... Don't think this is over. You're going to get proper treatment if my name isn't Pacifist!" Lisa glared at Kaze and furiously declared before storming out.

"Is he well yet?" asked Cid as Lisa emerged from Kaze's room.  
"Shut up, Cid."

* * *

Okay, round two hadn't worked so well. Who knew Kaze could negotiate, and manage to get half way out the door before Lisa dragged both him and his helpers back. This time clearing everyone out of the house, including Yu so Kaze wouldn't have any comrades in his campaign to annoy the hell out of Lisa, Lisa turned toward plan three.

Sweet talk. Laying on the sugar. Being Ms. Jane. Dress up. Acting cute.

Otherwise known as: Kissing ass.

If dressing in a frilly apron and putting on a little lip gloss and letting her hair down (with the addition of high heels and lingerie brought at _Fascinations_) didn't get Kaze to take that medicine, then nothing else would.  
Lisa looked down at herself. Well, she had too much bust to fit Marie Hayakawa's naughty nurse costume.

With determination filling her veins once more, Lisa made porridge and prepared for round three with Kaze.

Cracking open the door, she saw him sullenly sitting upon the bed. Lisa silently congratulated herself for filling the floor space around his bed with humidifiers. Why humidifiers? A substitute for mist, plus its good for congestion. And why mist? Well if Kaze hates Kumo then maybe he'll stay in bed if he has to be reminded of him. At least it's something to keep him from jumping out the window.

With porridge in one hand, and a spoon (plastic this time) in the other, Lisa stole into the room and stood before Kaze.

"I thought you might be hungry." Lisa forced herself to plaster on a dumb grin on her face and leaned forward just enough to show him what was underneath the apron.

Kaze might as well have been gay.

"_Damn bastard. Maybe Kumo in high heels would have sparked your interest? Freaking jerk!"_

Instead of voicing her opinion, Lisa tried tactic two and sat on the bed by Kaze, placing the porridge between them.  
"Just one bite? Please, Kaze. I know you're hungry."  
There was just enough pleading in her voice to make it seem like she had given up and just enough fluttering of her brown eyes to make her seem eager to please, not like she had a muscle disorder.

"Just one bite and I'll never bother you again."

"_Come on, take the bait you bastard..."_

Kaze leaned toward the bowl—

"_Yes, yes, yes!"_

And threw up all over her.

For a minute there was nothing but shocked silence and the hiss of purified air filling the room. And then, as Lisa was starting to get over the shock of a grown man vomiting over her "sexy mama" outfit, Kaze vomited again, but this time over the side of the bed and on Marie's red pumps and what looked to be half a year's salary.

Lisa stood up, turned around, and walked out the door.

Yu was standing outside, his face priceless as he realized what Lisa was covered in (and what she was wearing).

"What...?"

"Don't say a word."

Incidentally, Lisa had to walk past Kumo to get to the bathroom.  
She promptly threw her soiled apron in his face and flipped him off.

* * *

Okay, flashing her middle finger in Kumo's face (and giving him a view of her scantly clad behind) hadn't been part of the master plan. But, no matter how much she hated to admit it, she had to call in the calvary.

Which meant Ai.

There was something demeaning about a 20-something woman going to a 12 year old girl for help. However, go Lisa did.

Ai listened sympathetically, then nodded her head and stood up.

"You've been going about this the wrong way."  
Lisa nodded her head in agreement. Maybe trying to seduce a person with a fever hot enough to boil an egg hadn't been such a good idea.

"What you should have done was stripped. Then when he was too shocked to make a move, pounced on him and put him in a chocker hold. Then, wrapping your legs around his spine, brought him to his knees and forced the medicine down his throat before inserting a gag."  
Lisa's mouth opened up so wide it could have fit a semi. Did Ai, innocent 12 year old Ai, just suggest something that was possibly illegal?

Ai just shrugged at Lisa's reaction. "At least that's what my mom does to my dad anyway."  
Lisa closed her mouth and looked at the Hayakawa's in a new light.  
Never mess with the child of a reigning S&M queen.

* * *

With her newfound plans dashed, and knowing that she had no other choice, Lisa turned to the crew of the Comodeen and Knave for help.

"Well, what I believe you should do," said Knave since the rest of the crew just threw catcalls her way (show one man your booty and you show a hundred), Cid just plan confused Lisa with his explanation of the body and germs and white blood cells, and because Miles was no help since she just agreed with everything Cid said. Lisa had no choice but to turn to Knave. "is just explain your purpose and be honest with him."  
Lisa, for the second time that night, was dumbfounded. She hadn't even thought that Kaze might not understand her purpose in trying to help him. In fact, she hadn't even thought that Kaze's world might not have medicine or that this might be his first time being sick.

And here she was, trying to seduce and terrorize Kaze into submission. Trying to bully a man now lying in his own vomit into swallowing, what might appear to him, poison.

"Knave, you're right. I'll go to Kaze right now and explain." Lisa thanked him and turned to go, but before she could leave Knave grabbed her elbow and brought her back to him.

"Wait, before you go..."  
Somehow Lisa knew where this was going from the look in his eye and the fireplace that suddenly sprung up in the background.

"...What color underwear are you wearing?"

Needless to say the Kigen dragon was unleashed and chaos ensued, leading to the mysterious sinking of the Comodeen.

* * *

This time Lisa was well prepared.

She didn't wear sexy clothes, nor did she carry medicine or any other threatening objects, and she didn't come with a scheme in mind. All she wore were simple cleaning clothes, a mop and bucket, and fresh sheets. Lisa took away the humidifiers, ordered Cid and Yu to bath Kaze, and Ai and Kumo (who was lucky enough to have escaped Lisa's wrath) to find something for Kaze to sleep in while she cleaned up the room.

It was hard work, trying to keep it together and think up an apology, but in the end Lisa ended up going with Knave's advice.

"I'm sorry, Kaze. I didn't think of your feelings. I'm not trying to hurt you, I just want to make sure you get better."

Lisa bowed low and apologized while Kaze dressed in the other room. A single wood door separated them, but he was still able to hear her.

"In the future, I'll try to think more about your feelings." Lisa blushed with shame. If she had just done this in the beginning things wouldn't have been so difficult.

Kaze didn't say anything as he walked into the now clean (and vomit free) bedroom.

With the exception of his metal clad arm, he looked like a kid.  
Dirt free, without his glasses or his usual clothes, Kaze actually looked human. Unfortunately, the pajamas that Ai and Kumo managed to find were too short.

Lisa stifled a giggle. Kaze looked so awkward, like a bean pole standing there in checkered PJ's two sizes too small.

Kaze just glared at Lisa, and started to voice his dissent, when a sneezing fit overcame him.

Lisa held back a grin as she lead Kaze to bed.

This time there were no stand offs and things went smoother. Kaze got into bed with no complaint, accepted the medicine once it was explained what it was for, and even allowed Lisa to feed him some of the porridge she had made.

"There, now don't you feel better? If you need anything I'll be in the other room. Goodnight."  
Lisa reached over to turn out the light and leave him alone when Kaze stopped her by reaching out and touching her hand.

Lisa looked over her shoulder, staring at his hand over hers in surprise. Then she noticed Kaze's difficulty breathing and a slight blush on his face.

Whether it was from the fever, or having to be taken care of, Lisa didn't know or care. He needed her. And that was all she needed to know.  
"Do you want me to stay with you?"  
Her answer was Kaze averting his face and turning a beet red.

Lisa smiled and sat by his side, happy that for once they were able to communicate with each other. Even if she had done all the talking.

Communication is the key to understanding one another.

Even if the person you're communicating with has vomited on you in one point in time.

* * *

Ai and Yu snuck into the sickroom before dawn.

"Do you think Kaze's okay?"  
"I wouldn't worry about him. Lisa on the other hand... Well, I still say she should have tried the chocker hold on him." Ai shrugged and walked in after Yu.

For a minute neither said a word, then they turned to each other with identical grins.

"Should we...?"  
"Wake them? Naw, let them sleep. But maybe..."  
Ai leaned down and took the tape off of Poshepocket. "Give me a camera."

Lisa and Kaze slept on, oblivious as Ai took a picture of them together. Then, silently, the twins walked out with their evidence in tow.

On the bed, side by side, Lisa and Kaze slept together.  
He still held her hand.

(7 Days — Monday—End 9/18/08)


	2. Tuesday

**Author's Notes:** Good news people! A miracle has happened! And no, Square Enix has not decided to make a 2nd season of FFU, I finally updated :) I know, I can't believe it either. (XD) Just goes to show your prayers are answered if you believe.

Anyway, I'm finally writing something where Lisa isn't out of her mind. How did you all enjoy the first chapter of "7"? Don't worry, in this chapter Kaze doesn't throw up on Lisa or anything like that.

This time I'm trying to write in Kaze's point of view (sort of, lol). This is going to be hard. But I'll try my best. This one-shot also has a title, since I was debating whether or not to add it to this collection.  
Title: Sour Grapes

Summary: (Set during FFU: After) Do you remember the stories from your childhood, the story of the fox who lusted after the grapes it couldn't have? Lisa mourns Dolk, the man who is out of reach, and in a quiet moment Kaze "comforts" Lisa.

Don't worry, it doesn't have any questionable content (the summary just sucks). Anyway, this can be seen as a friendship fic in a way. I guess... If you are blind. (But then again, if you don't like the possibility of a KXL paring, why are you here?)

Disclaimer: I don't own FFU. That is owned by Square Enix and whoever animated it. I just own the plot.

* * *

"It Doesn't Take Seven Days to Love You..."

--7 Days--

Tuesday

"Lisa, are you going to be okay?"

Kaze watched from the other side of the room as Lisa wiped away her tears and put on a brave face.

"Sure I am. Don't worry about me. It's late...you kids should be in bed."  
Ai and Yu nodded and ran off with Chobi to find a room in their temporary safe house in Russia courtesy of Lisa's friend.

Kaze continued to watch her as Lisa moved from one side of the room to the other, picking up after the kids and trying to make the square concerte room they were in look like something other than what it was—a square concrete room with a glass covered hole that served as a window.  
At least it had furniture. Not that Kaze took advantage of it, he would rather risk it on the cold floor than trust one of the rickety couches.

And maybe, out of some kind of twisted chivalry, he relented his space on the couch to Lisa not out of his usual habit of meditation but out of kindness.

Maybe.  
Kaze closed his eyes and listened as Lisa continued to pace, picking up objects only to set them down and continuing to swipe at her tearing eyes.

"sniff... I wonder how long we're going to have to stay here? Until we can find a way to stop Chaos?" Lisa sat down across from him, on the couch that Kaze may or may not have abandoned for her comfort, and voiced her worry.  
It didn't bother Kaze, he was used to being mistaken as a wall by her.  
By everyone.  
But that didn't mean he didn't have feelings. Lisa's red eyes were starting to bother him.

Not that he cared if she cried herself to death over a man that would happily toss her aside for the Inner World's version of Poison Ivy, or that she had been crying on and off for the last 24 hrs straight now.  
What bothered him is that she couldn't be honest with herself when it was so blatantly obvious that she needed to face the truth.

"Do you think it will stop snowing?" Lisa asked as she stared absently out the window, and then got up to resume her pacing.

"_Maybe if you stop burning a hole into the floor with your infernal walking."_ Kaze thought to himself. It surprised him, how annoyed he was by her.  
It was the first emotion in a long time, and before he could get over the shock to enjoy it, Lisa sat down in front of him again and started to cry. Again_**.**_

"_Dammit..."_ The second thought made him wonder just **why** he was annoyed in the first place. As Kaze watched Lisa wipe away her tears and then try to smile like nothing had happened, his annoyance increased.

Why couldn't she just face the truth? He was starting to hate her.

"_Or am I only hating her because she's out of reach?"_

This was a startling new development. Did he hate Lisa because she was crying, and trying to hide it, or because she was in love with Dolk?  
And did he hate Dolk, (Kaze did hate Dolk—he hated everyone involved with Chaos) because of his connection with Lisa and because Lisa wouldn't sever that connection?  
Kaze sat up straighter. If this was true then maybe—

"I want to get out of here as soon as possible and find a way to save Dolk."  
Kaze let his shoulders slump. Once again, Lisa had ruined a rare chance for Kaze to experience an emotion. Besides anger, he had tossed away his heart a long time ago. So feeling an emotion was one of the few pleasures he had left besides killing something—anything.  
In this case Dolk.

"I'll kill him."  
"What?" Lisa stood up, alarmed, and then sat down once more and leaned toward Kaze. "What do you mean?"  
"Dolk cannot be saved. So I'll kill him." There was a vehemence in his voice that startled him as well.  
Simple as that, easiest way to solve the problem. Then he could finally have—what? Lisa?  
And before an emotion could follow after those troubling thoughts, or some deep revelation, Lisa jumped up and leaped toward him.

If it was an attack, it was a badly timed one. Kaze easily grabbed her wrists and pinned her down.  
He might be one handed, but he could still handle Lisa in his sleep. She struggled for awhile, then gave in and, to Kaze's astonishment, glared at him.

Happiness. He almost smiled. Something besides Dolk was imprinted on her heart.  
But then, once again, Lisa ruined the emotion by starting to cry. But this time because of him.  
Thinking he had hurt her, Kaze let go of her wrists only to have Lisa slap him across the face.

CRACK!

Kaze didn't know if it was because she had hit him, which brought another emotion with it—astonishment, or because of the storm outside that the room suddenly went dark and the only sound to be heard was the echo of her hitting him.

For a minute afterward stunned silence. Both of them couldn't believe what had happened. Lisa sat, still underneath him, looking at her palm and Kaze just stared at her in a awe.

"Kaze, I'm..." Lisa started to say, then shut her mouth as if the words she was going to say had stung her.

"_Can't be as bad as getting hit over that man."_  
This thought brought back a wave of anger. Wasn't killing him suppose to make her feel better? In his mind it was a simple equation. Killing Dolk = Lisa happy. What was wrong with that? The man was past saving anyway.  
_"But is it only that he exists that is the problem?"_

Lisa had lived in the Inner World this whole time without saying a world about a boyfriend, (Well, Yu and Ai had brought up looking for her boyfriend at some point in time, but Kaze had just thought they meant finding one in the Inner World **not** searching for one from the Outer World) and now she was suddenly going into hysterics for someone who she hadn't been in contact with for almost a year! If she really loved him then she should have just stayed home and **he** should have known better than to just let Lisa go and taunt other men with her—

Lisa shifted beneath him and Kaze lost his train of thought again.

"Kaze?"

Dammit, why the hell was he getting so angry anyway? It's not like it mattered to him what happened between the two of them as long as it didn't get in the way between him, Kumo, and Chaos. As long as Lisa's heart didn't inadvertently make Chaos grow he shouldn't care.

Then maybe that was the problem, Chaos.

"_Is that really the problem? Or is it because Lisa represents something you can't have?"_

It was like a light finally dawned. Or maybe it was the result of the electricity coming back on.

Either way, Kaze leaned toward Lisa before she could protest or bring up the subject of Dolk again.

Yes, it was probably because she was out of reach that he was denying her, but at the same time wanting her because he couldn't have her. It was the same as denouncing something that you wanted, but couldn't have because it was on a pedestal too high to reach. Just like in the tale of the fox and the grapes.  
But these grapes weren't sour, but sweet.

And it was worth her slapping him again. Worth every second.

Lisa stood up angrily and pushed him away, stomping out of the room and cursing him under her breath, her face a beet red. But for once she was too angry to think about her sorrow or anything but Kaze.

Kaze watched her go impassively, and then leaned back on the forgotten couch and rested his aching face against the cool, synthetic fabric.

He licked his lips. He could still taste her.

Yes, it had been worth it. Worth every second.  
Even if he couldn't make her his.

(7 Days—Tuesday—End 9/21/08)

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I have no excuse for this, other than to say that this is the second time that I've made Kaze lick his lips over Lisa. Maybe I really wanted to see that in the anime? XD (It would have scared all the children watching it though if Kaze had drank Lisa's blood or stolen a kiss, so I think it's better that I don't own Square Enix, lol) Somehow I think Kaze has a scary look on his face at the end, I mean, it **is** Kaze after all. He probably has this diabolical look on his face right after he "tasted" her, as if he's planning something else. So maybe it's better that Lisa did leave in a hurry. (Run Lisa, run!) XD

And yes, I love the expression "XD". I also love ":D", and that's how I feel right now. All I have to do is scan this for mistakes and press the submit button.  
But, getting back to the fic, I'm sorry if Kaze is ooc character but it was worth it. Worth every second. :D

Let's meet again on Wednesday!


	3. Wednesday

**Author's Notes:** How are you all doing? I'm going to keep this short. This one-shot also has a title, but its a little... Odd. But in a good way. More of a dark fantasy really. (Yes, you just read that right).

Title: Wonderland

Summary: Lisa and Kaze have a fight. In a rage, Lisa storms off and gets lost in a dark jungle where nothing is as it seems. There a lost boy, with a familiar pair eyes, asks Lisa to help him find his "home".

Disclaimer: I don't own FFU. That is owned by Square Enix and whoever animated it. I just own the plot.

* * *

"It Doesn't Take Seven Days to Love You..."

--7 Days--

Wednesday

"That's it, I've had enough!"

Lisa screamed, for once voicing her thoughts.  
She had had it up to here with Kaze's emotionless attitude. Didn't he care what happened to Ai and Yu, and especially what happened to her?

Kaze just stared at her, his gaze blank as the crew of the Comodeen stopped to watch the "fight" between them. Lisa turned bright red as countless eyes, not just Ai and Yu anymore but a full fleged crowd, settled upon her. As if it was her fault for what had happened.

It **wasn't** her fault. If she hadn't stepped in Kaze would have gotten Ai and Yu killed. Even if Ai and Yu had foolishly decided to stand by Kaze (Because they are what fuels the Magun, and they were safer with him than her. Which was also the cause of her sudden outburst), that didn't mean Kaze could just sacrifice them so he could get a cheap shot off of Kumo. And it wasn't just the white haired sword man, any enemy that Kaze went up against would leave those around him and the ground in rubble. This wasn't the first time Lisa had to risk her life to save the children and herself because Kaze would rather fight than think like a human being for once.

And...

Lisa lowered her face, trembling under the weight of her emotions.

"You aimed that gun at me... Doesn't that bother you? Don't you feel anything? What if I had died!"  
Kaze blinked, once then twice. Lisa felt like a fool.  
"Don't get in my way."  
She had heard it a thousand times. That same response. In his mind only him, his memories, and his sworn enemy existed.

But not this time, she would not just stand there and take it this time.  
Before Lisa could stop herself she raised her hand to slap Kaze...

...Only to have Ai stand in her way.

"Ai... What?"  
"Don't hit Kaze!" Ai shouted at Lisa and stood with her arms outstreached to protect Kaze.

It was impossible to feel any more rage at this point. And with that surge of rage inside came betrayal, embarrassment at being stopped by a child, and indignation.

They were all turning against her, even Yu. Yu stood with his sister and gazed sadly at Lisa, like he was pitying her.  
It was too much for Lisa to stand, she pushed past Kaze and the crowd around her and left the ship in tears.

* * *

It was dark outside, and there was no moon. Lisa kept walking without any idea of which direction she faced or what surrounded her.

Why? They had all turned against her. And for what? Kaze.  
Lisa wiped furiously at her face and tried to stifle her sobs. It wasn't fair! Why were they taking his side?  
_"Because he can protect them better than I can."_

Lisa stopped and looked down at her shoes miserably. It was true. Kaze could protect Yu and Ai better than she could. And secretly, Lisa wanted to be protected by Kaze. She **liked** Kaze.

But Kaze didn't like her. Or anyone for that matter. He just barely tolarated Lou and Ai and Yu because they were children.  
Kaze was more poweful than Lisa. Kaze knew more about the Inner World than she did. Kaze didn't have any weaknesses like Lisa did.

"And Kaze almost killed me just because I stepped in front of his Magun and kept him from killing Kumo." Lisa sniffed. Kumo hadn't even thanked her, just vanished.

Maybe she shouldn't have done that, but Kaze didn't have to act like he was actually going to kill her. If she hadn't used her Kigen arts just then...  
Lisa shivered and looked around her, a sudden blast of cold had distracted her from her depressing thoughts.

Where was she? This dark forest... No, the plants here looked more exotic than they should be. Didn't the ship, Jane, land in a plain? So how had she ended up here?  
Lisa's first thoughts were of Kaze, for him to rescue her. These desperate thoughts were followed by anger. She was not some useless woman to be rescued by the hero. She was Lisa Pacifist, a martial artist and master of the Kigen arts too!  
Still... This place seemed errie. Lisa couldn't get a good feel for the auras surrounding her. It was if the place wasn't good... or evil. A vast nothingness seemed to surround her, crushing her with its weight. Lisa felt lonely. Discarded. Abandoned.

Suddenly something smacked into her from behind. Lisa fell to her knees and ended up scrapping her palms on the jagged ground beneath her.

"Ow..." Looking around, there was nothing that should have tossed her to the ground, until she noticed a small figure next to her.  
"Oh my, are you alright?" Lisa grasped the shoulders of the small boy at her feet and examined him. He was small, smaller than Ai and Yu, and possibly younger too. It was hard to tell with his cloak and long hair covering his face. He looked dirty and tired, as if he had been running all night. Lisa smoothed back his bangs and peered into his face until his eyes opened.

Blue, familiar blue eyes looked back at her. A calm steady gaze that she had seen a thousand times before.  
Lisa shook her head. Impossible, but for a moment she had thought...

The boy broke away from her and hid behind a tree. Lisa followed him and found him curled up at the base of the tree, trying to make himself invisble.

"There, there. I won't hurt you. You just scared me, that's all."  
"You're bleeding." The boy looked up at her face, then glanced at her hands and then away.

Lisa looked down at her hands. She was bleeding. She had skinned her palms when the boy had bumped into her. Lisa cursed under her breath. She hadn't brought bandages or a hankerchief with her.

To distract him, Lisa changed the topic. "What's your name? My name's Lisa."  
"Lisa..." The boy stared into the darkness, lost in thought.  
"Yes, and yours?"  
"I... I don't have one. I'm just me."  
Lisa's heart went out to the poor child. Had he lost his memory? And here he was wandering around in this strange world.

For no reason at all Kaze's face came to her mind. Lisa pushed his image away, she was still upset at him, until an idea came to her.

"Well, you're Kai from now on."

The boy, now Kai, smiled.

* * *

Lisa, with Kai's help, managed to clean her wounds and bind her palms in the make-shift bandages from Kai's cloak.  
Hand in hand, the two wandered through the strange jungle around them.

"If only Kaze were here..." Lisa muttered to herself. They had been walking for what seemed like hours. At her side, as if to comfort her, Kai squeezed her hand.

Lisa looked down at him and smiled, trying to be brave.  
"Don't smile."  
"What did you say?" Lisa sat down on a tree stump in front of Kai and frowned. For a second there...

"Don't smile if you don't mean it. Don't be false."  
He sounded like Kaze.

Lisa laughed nervously. "I'm... You're such a strange boy. Your parents must have their hands full."  
The boy looked down. "I don't have parents."  
"But—"  
"They're gone, and my sister..."  
Lisa hugged the boy to her as his voice trembled. "It's okay, I'm here. We'll find your sister, okay? I'll protect you."

Kai pulled away from her, his small face determined. "I'll protect you."  
Lisa started to smile, but something in his eyes stopped her. He was serious.  
"I'll protect you," he repeated. "I promise."  
Lisa's eyes filled with tears. Finally someone had said the words she wanted to hear, only it wasn't from who she wanted those words from. Lisa wiped her eyes. For once she felt like a child, lost and afraid.  
Silently, Kai leaned toward her on tiptoe and kissed her forehead. Lisa looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back and took her hand.

* * *

Finally, they reached a building. Lisa asked Kai to stay outside while she went inside to investigate.

It was a strange place, full of broken walls and vines and broken bits of funiture. And mirrors. Row upon row of mirrors. But all of them were broken.  
Lisa walked down the dark hallway in front of her, trying to move quietly but failing with the glass of the broken mirrors under her feet. Every pop, snap, and crunch of the glass made her flinch. At any moment Lisa expected something to jump out of the shadows and grab her.

"_Don't be silly. Nothing can hurt you."_

It sounded like sensible advice, but Lisa wasn't convinced. And leaving Kai outside all alone...

YEOW!

Lisa jumped back and screamed. A cat, pitch black in the darkness, ran across her path. Lisa leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath. It was just a cat, just a cat...

"10 years bad luck?" Lisa joked. Before she could start walking, a child's voice took her breath away.

"10 and 20. 5 and 80. 6 and 7..."  
"Ai? Ai, is that you?" Lisa called out to the owner of the voice. God, it sounded like Ai. But it couldn't be...could it?  
"4 and 9. 5 and 40..."  
"Ai!" Lisa ran, blindly, down the hallway. But no matter how hard she tired, Lisa couldn't catch up with the voice.  
"6... 8... 12..."  
"Ai... Where... Where am I? Where are you!" Lisa screamed only to be answered by several of voices.

"I'm so glad Lisa's not here," Yu said from out of the darkness.  
Lisa jumped; the voice seemed to have come from all around her.

"Yeah, she was always so stuffy. And a total flake. All she ever did was run around and cry for help. I mean, aren't we suppose to be the helpless ones?"  
That was Ai. Ai's voice. But...  
Cid this time. "I mean, I liked her. But she was always such an..."  
"Idiot?" Miles, not you too.

"Things will be better without her here."

Kaze, that was Kaze's voice. So, he didn't need her after all. No one did.

Lisa almost dropped to her knees, but at the last moment she reminded herself about the broken mirrors.

The mirrors. The mirrors were gone.

"Wha...?" Lisa looked around. She was in a square room, with a spotlight raining down on her. And in front of her was a mirror. A full length mirror. Through the mirror she could see Ai and Yu and Cid and everyone else partying and having a good time now that she was gone.

"No. It's not true. Was I... Did I really... Why?"  
Lisa reached out her hand to touch the mirror only for the surface to shimmer and quake like water. Lisa pulled her hand back, watching as the image in the mirror changed to reflect herself.

"What? That's not me."  
The Lisa in the mirror wore a white dress, her hands were not bandaged, and her hair was down. And slowly, she began to smile. A horrible grin.  
Lisa screamed.

* * *

Somehow, she had fainted. Or fallen into a deep sleep. Lisa woke up and was outside, with Kai at her side.

"What... What happened?"  
Kai said nothing, but held her hand. Her unbandaged hand.

Lisa gasped and sat up. Somehow she had switched places with the image in the mirror. "What's going on, who are you?" Lisa demanded.

Kai just continued to stare at her.  
"Nothing makes sense anymore. I want to... I want to go home."  
"Home," Kai repeated. "Home with me?"  
"Kai..." Lisa shook her head. "No. Home with the Comodeen, and Ai and Yu. And..."  
She couldn't say his name. Lisa let her words drift away as she saw the look of anguish on Kai's face.

"Kai, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Of course home with you. I promised didn't I?"  
"You can't go back..."  
"What?"  
"You can't!"

Kai turned and ran away.  
Lisa cursed. Why was this happening to her? Was this some kind of punishment? Or was this the doing of Chaos?  
Lisa followed Kai, trying to catch up to him, but he was always one step ahead of her. Suddenly, Lisa lost her footing and slipped into a hidden rabbit hole.

Somehow, even though the hole had been small enough just to swollow her foot, Lisa fell down it and landed upon a pile of old leaves.

"Ow... Why is this happening to me?" Lisa muttered as she attempted to sit up and wade through the pile of refuse. Here she was, lost in the middle of some forest from hell, with a child who had just run away from her. A child who had sworn to protect her.

Kaze had protected her. Until now.

Lisa cursed once more. She must stop thinking about him. He wasn't here to help her. And besides, wasn't she angry at him for everything he had done to her?

What he had done to her... Lisa laughed. What he had done was shoot at her with his shotgun. But he had purposely missed just to prove his point, that she should stay out of his way. That he could have killed her, but hadn't. And Ai and Yu were never hurt in his care. **Almost** hurt, but not mortally wounded. Lisa had overreacted.

She felt like crying, and tears almost spilled over her cheeks if not for the sound of music that suddenly reached her ears.

"La la la... Tra la la..."  
"Yu?" First Ai and now Yu. Who else would show up?  
Lisa followed the sound until she reached what appeared to be a long table with tea cups. Lisa noticed that all the cups were empty as she picked up one hoping for a drink.  
"So you've come at last! Alice my dear, how nice to see you!" A figure stepped out of the darkness, his face in shadow making it impossible to see who he was.  
Suddenly it all clicked. "I'm not Alice. I didn't know the Inner World had an _Alice in Wonderland_ themed world. I want to go home!"  
"Not Alice?"  
"No!" Lisa screamed at the person in front of her until she realized who it was. "Cid? Cid, is that you?"  
Cid turned his head to the side, puzzled. Then he smiled and picked her up. Lisa squeeled as she was tossed up into the air and on to the table. Knives and forks rained down upon her, pinning her dress to the table.  
"Well, Alice, Sandra, Flo, doesn't matter as long as the tea shall go!"  
And vanish the tea cups did, to be replaced by golden plates and goblets. Lisa struggled in vain to free herself from the table, but to no avail.

"La la la... Is that a new tasty dish? Or is she some new kind of fish?" Another figure stepped out from the shadows.  
"Yu," Lisa whispered with relief. Finally some help. "I'm so glad you're here! Please, help me! Cid's gone crazy!"

Yu, or what appeared to be Yu, just shook his head and tsked at her as if she was a naughty little girl. "Now, now, dinner should know better than to speak."  
Dinner? They were going to **eat** her? This definitly hadn't been in _Alice in Wonderland_!

"NO! You can't! Let me go!" Lisa struggled as both Cid and Yu picked up a gigantic pair of scissors and attempted to snip off her head.

"Now, hold still Alice or you'll gush all over the place. Dinner should be a good girl and hold still," Cid crackled with glee as the scissors he held barely missed her neck and embedded themselves into the table. In seconds Yu and Cid had the scissors free and were trying once more to kill their "dinner."

Lisa shrieked and ducked and dogged to keep the scissors from sliceing her throat, or worse, removing her head from her shoulders. Just when it seemed hopeless, someone grabbed her from behind and yanked her off the table.

"_Thank god..."_ Lisa sighed as she saw Yu and Cid retreate before whoever had saved her. Lisa turned around and stared up into familiar grey eyes.

"Kumo? Thank god you're here, I—"  
Kumo cut her off as he began to choke her.

"_First I'm going to be beheaded then I'm going to be strangled. Does everyone want to kill me!"_

Lisa tried to fight him, but he was stronger than he looked, and with the back of the table helping him by digging into her ribs, it seemed she would lose.

"_I just wanted to help you... Kaze, you should have killed him..."_

Just as Lisa thought she was going to pass out, Ai's voice cut through the darkness.

"I said I wanted her head, not to make a steak out of and NOT my best man to choke her to death! Can't anyone do anything? Good help is so hard to find now days..."

Kumo let go of her, sending Lisa sprawling to the floor and grasping for air.

"You almost killed me! You lunatic, I should have let Kaze blow your head off!" Lisa screamed at first at Kumo and then a gothic lolita dressed Ai.  
"So sorry about that dear, but no one is allowed to come to my birthday and not bring a gift. Kumo, kiss the girl and make up."

"What!" Before Lisa could protest Kumo kissed her on the lips, and then her neck, and was starting to kiss some interesting areas before Ai hit him over the head.

"I said kiss you dimwit, not love her up! It's not Christmas yet!"

"_Sex on Christmas?"_ Lisa absently thought. _"I could get used to that..."_

Ai turned to Lisa and inspected her. "Well, you'll have to do. What's your name?"  
"Lisa. Look, you're obviously not the Ai I know. Why don't you just let me go home?"  
Ai ignored her and wacked Kumo over the head again as he tried to eat some of Lisa's hair.

"Sorry about that, didn't hear the last part. If you don't train these boys then they'll just walk all over you. Want a try?"  
Ai held her sceptor out towards Lisa. "That's alright. I just want to go home. Have you seen a little boy around here?"  
Ai titled her head, like Cid had done before he had tried to kill her along with Yu. "No, can't say that I have. So you're into little boys are you? I can't blame you. Grown men are hard to train."  
Lisa blushed. "No! No, it's not like that! Anyway, I appreciate your help. Even if you did try to kill me."  
_"And take my head."_ Lisa remembered the words Ai had shouted at Kumo to stop him at the same moment that Ai raised her sceptor abover her head and swung it at Lisa. Lisa ducked under the table and crawled toward the exit.

"Why is this happening to me! I want to go home!"

Ai jumped upon the table and started to hack it to pieces as Kumo began to eat the plates. "Give me your head! I want it! It's not like you're using it anyway!"

"Yes I am!" Lisa shouted back. A little more, just a little more and she would be free.

But the universe is cruel, just as Lisa was about to escape Cid and Yu appeared again to block her exit. Kumo and Ai were closing in on her.

"_Someone, anyone, save me!"_

Almost as if her prayers had been answered, a giant explosion distracted her pursuers. Lisa shielded her face as all around her things fell apart, as if the world around her was just one giant puzzle.

Once more darkness surrounded her and Lisa felt herself falling yet again. Her last thought:

"_Kaze... At least you're not trying to kill me."_

* * *

When Lisa woke up, she found herself in a small candlelit room. She was laying on a velvet couch and the only evidence that she had been a part of the tea party from hell was the dirt on her knees and her ripped dress.

"Where... Where am I?"

"So, you're awake. I'm so glad princess."  
Things could not have been more weird if a giant mecha had fallen through the roof and started singing happy birthday. A stuffed sheep was talking to her.

"I'm so glad you're alright, princess."  
Make that a stuffed sheep and a pig.  
"What... Where..."  
"Don't try to speak princess. We've just rescued you from the dreadful Queen of Hearts. Well, not us your highness, but your one true love."  
For a moment, Lisa thought she would faint. Her, a princess? The closest she had ever been to a princess was when she was six years old and dressed up as Sleeping Beauty in elementry school for a school play. A role that hadn't taken much effort considering that all Sleeping Beauty had done was sleep.

If there was anything the last half hour had taught her it was just go along with whatever is happening.

"My one true love? Who would that be?"  
Almost as if a cue from backstage had been given, Knave appeared out of no where dressed in stockings, a tunic, and a crown.

Lisa felt like vomiting. She thought it would at least be Kaze, maybe Kumo again, but Knave?

"Oh, my love! Thank god I found you!" Knave proclaimed as he sat at her feet and held her hand.

Lisa trembled, with rage. She snatched back her hand and stood up. "I am not your princess! I'm leaving, **now**."

What appeared to be 10 and 20 stuffed animals blocked her path. "But the ball hasn't even started yet."  
"Ball?" Despite herself, Lisa's curiosity was piqued. A ball certaintly sounded innocent. Then she remembered almost being killed by Cid, Yu, Ai and Kumo.

"No, I want to go home. I just want to go home so I can tell Kaze I'm sorry and sleep in my own bed and have a shower. Why can't you just let me go home?"  
"But princess," One of the stuff animals, a frog, cried out. "You are home. And as for Lord Kaze, he's right here princess. He rescued you from Ai and her horrible servant, White Kinght Kumo."

Lisa looked up and gasped. It couldn't be, could the frog be telling the truth. But almost as if this had been staged, Kaze stood before her.  
There were some differences between him and the real Kaze. This Kaze was dressed in a formal suit and didn't have the magun, but beyond that he looked just like the Kaze Lisa had shouted at before storming away from the safety of the Comodeen and Jane. He looked so much like Kaze that Lisa's heart ached.

"Oh, Kaze... I'm so—"  
"My lady, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Kaze apologized in her stead and kneeled at her feet, bowing formally.

Something in Lisa broke apart to see Kaze at her feet. But this was just what she had wanted, to have Kaze apologize, rescue her and care about her for once, and treat her special. Like a princess.

"_No, this can't be what I want. The Kaze I like... The Kaze I like would never bow to me! He's cold and mean, and has so much pride, and that's what I love about him!"_

Lisa shoved past the fake Kaze like she had shoved past the real one earlier. Several plushies attempted to stop her as she ran for the door. Her exit lead to a royal banquet hall where several masked figures, that looked suspiciously like the crew of the Comodeen, attempted to waltz. There was Miles dancing with a frog and even Fungo attempting to eat one of the musicians instruments.

Lisa quickly attempted to lose the stuffed animals, Knave, and Kaze (who she found out from the whispers of the other dancers was called the "Black Knight"). Lisa looked for another way out until she spotted one resident of the ball that did not look like someone from her past.

"Kai!"

But as soon as she shouted to gain the young boy's attention, Kaze grabbed her from behind and spun her around.

"If you had wanted to dance, you needed only to ask."  
As they started to waltz, Lisa burst into tears.

"_Will I ever get out of here?"_

To be continued...

(10/15/08)

* * *

**Author's Notes:** This was suppose to be short, but its already 8 pages. So I decided I would split it up into parts. I warned you guys that this was bizarre. (lol) So the next chapter, Thursday, will be the continuation. I wanted this to be only one-shots, but to be honest, I don't know how to fill up the other remanding chapters so this is a good solution. Sorry to keep you all in supense, but find out next time how Lisa escapes from this nightmarish world.

See ya Thursday.


	4. Thursday

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for making you all wait. I believe this is my 1st update for the New Year. Has it been that long already? Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. This is the continuation and final chapter of "Wonderland."

Also, it's my B-day today (June 1st). (:D) So give me the best birthday gift ever and review! This summer also marks the 7th year that I've been writing fan fiction. Time sure does fly by, huh?

Title: Wonderland, Final Chapter

Summary: Lisa and Kaze have a fight. In a rage, Lisa storms off and gets lost in a dark jungle where nothing is as it seems. There a lost boy, with a familiar pair eyes, asks Lisa to help him find his "home." Now stuck in the Inner World's version of _Alice and Wonderland_: Lisa is a princess, Kaze is a dark knight, and Ai is the Queen of Hearts that is after her head! Can the lost boy, Kai, help her find a way out? Or should she trust the "Black Knight" Kaze? Better yet—does Lisa even want to return home when she could stay and be with the man of her dreams forever?

Disclaimer: I don't own FFU. That is owned by Square Enix and whoever animated it. I just own the plot.

* * *

"It Doesn't Take Seven Days to Love You..."

--7 Days--

Thursday

"Stop it!"

Lisa pulled away from Kaze, snatching her hand out of his grasp and her body as well. Dancing was the last thing she needed. With the rip of a needle on a record, everything in the ballroom stopped and looked at her.

It was almost like before, when she had yelled at the real Kaze and ran away from him and everyone else, except that this time Lisa had a legitimate reason for her anger.

Enough was enough; if she stayed here any longer she would lose her mind.

"My lady..."  
"I'm NOT your lady! I'm not anyone's lady! I'm just... I'm just me... I want to go home, to my real home with Ai and Yu and Cid and Miles and...and..."

"_I want Kaze."_ Were Lisa's unspoken words. She broke down into tears and collapsed on the floor, exhausted from trying to fight against the bizarre rules of this world.

Wordlessly, Kaze, the Black Knight, signaled for the festivities to continue then kneeled down in front of his princess. Lisa kept slapping his hands away when he tried to embrace her, and instead he settled for wiping away her tears and signaling for one of the stuffed animals to summon a couch. Lisa stopped struggling long enough to allow herself to be picked up by two stuffed animals, a horse and a bear, and placed on the couch. On its own it began to move on clawed feet toward her—no the princess's—bedroom.

Knave wiped at his face with a handkerchief. "Oh no, what ever could have gotten into my bride? And we're to be married in two days time. Sir Kaze?"  
Kaze appeared lost in thought, and subconsciously his fingers twitched for a gun that wasn't there. "...Maybe..."  
"Maybe?"

"The fungi will know what to do."  
Knave nodded at Kaze's logic. "I will send for the mage right away."

With that being said, Knave disappeared and left Kaze to his thoughts.

* * *

Lisa curled up in a ball in the center of a canopy bed and cried. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried so much and with such anguish, the only thing that even came close was when she was ten and her mother died.  
Even though it was weak there was nothing else she could do, the possibility of being stuck in this topsy turvy world forever was enough to either drive her insane or to tears, and Lisa willingly took tears over insanity.

When she finally couldn't cry anymore, Lisa sat up in the luxurious bed and wiped away her tears. Analyzing the situation from a different perspective, she should be happy. This room, Kaze, everything was from her dreams. The dreams of a child. A child who had, in her loneliness, clung to fairy tales and mystic lands. That part of herself was one of the reasons she had willingly agreed to watch the Hayakawa's and hadn't hesitated to follow Ai and Yu on to the train to the Outer World. And it was also one of the reasons why she was stuck in this wonderland. If she hadn't acted so childishly toward Kaze, if only she had been able to control her emotions, Lisa wouldn't be in this mess.

To distract herself Lisa paced the room, letting her eyes focus on one expensive item after another. Anything was better than looking at herself or the door, which didn't exist anymore. After she had been tucked in by the stuff animal servants, (a sheep, ironically, had offered her a sleeping pill), they had left and taken the door with them. Literally.

Lisa sighed and juggled a heavy easter egg, which opened one eye and glared at her for disturbing its sleep. How was she going to get out of here?

Putting down the egg, Lisa strode toward the window and gazed out over "her" kingdom. It was like a labyrinth of lights and colors, buildings reaching as far as the eye could see past the ivy covered walls of her castle and the sagiso flower gardens. Somewhere out there however was Kai, the boy that Lisa had promised to protect.

"_I will protect you,"_ the memory of Kai's voice made Lisa smile. How was a little boy supposed to protect her? Yet, at that moment, he had sounded like Kaze.

Lisa turned to go back inside and contemplate her future when a hand grabbed her arm. Stifling a scream, Lisa turned back toward the window to see Kai hunched on the window sill.

"Kai!" It was almost unbelievable how happy she was to see his face. For one second Lisa was tempted to bury her head in his shoulder and cry with relief.

Kai smiled and stepped through the window, landing gracefully like a cat. He didn't say anything but took her hand in his and squeezed gently.

"I thought I would never see you again!" Lisa reached out and smoothed back Kai's long hair, looking deep in his eyes to make sure that this time he really was the Kai she knew and not an impostor.

"I told you, I will protect you. It's not safe here. We should go." Kai pulled away before Lisa could embrace him and dug into the pockets of his cloak, bringing forth a gun that look similar to Kaze's shotgun.  
"Where did you get...?" Lisa asked as Kai attempted to drag her across the room toward the outline of where the door to the room used to reside. "Kai, where did you get that gun? You were the one that saved me from Ai and Kumo weren't you?"

"There's no time to explain. We have to leave right away!" The grave edge to his voice silenced any further questions Lisa had.

Just then, footsteps could be heard on the other side of the wall. Kai quickly let go of Lisa's hand and dimmed the lights, pushing Lisa on to the bed and leaping toward the window seconds before the door reappeared once more and Kaze, this world's version of Kaze, stepped into the room.

"I came to see how you're feeling... Lisa."

"Kaze." Lisa tried to keep a straight face as her heart fluttered madly in her chest. Did Kai escape in time? Did Kaze notice anything or hear anything before he entered? And more importantly, why did the sound of her name from Kaze's lips bring her both happiness and sadness?

"I thought you would be sleeping. Shall I call for a servant to fetch dinner?"  
Lisa snapped out of her trance at how odd it was to hear Kaze speak to her or take interest in her in time stop him from ringing for a servant. "No! I mean, I'm alright. I'm not hungry."

A long silence settled between them, during which Lisa wondered why Kaze didn't just leave the room. Instead of leaving, Kaze closed the windows and then the curtains to her room. Lisa jumped as his hand rested on her shoulder briefly before he searched the room one final time and left. The comfort in his touch made Lisa both envy and wonder about the real princess. What was the relationship between her and Kaze? The woman she had switched places with when she had fell through the mirror must have been important to Kaze for him to risk his life for her and be comfortable enough to call her on a first name basis in private. Or maybe he only did so because she had screamed at him to leave her alone and that she's not his princess.

Assaulted with guilt by her thoughts of what she had done to both the Kaze in this world and the one in her own, Lisa pulled back the curtains and looked out into the night.  
Kai was gone.

* * *

The next morning, Lisa left the castle with Kaze. After being followed out of the city by a royal procession or dolls, stuffed animals, and fairies and such, Lisa and Kaze made their way over land and then over sea (a sea filled with what appeared to be talking fish that tried to sell her wrist watches and artifacts from Atlantis) to a humble island where plants towered over people like skyscrapers. The air was filled with the fragrance, pollen, and the chatter of various flowers and the light was a muted, greenish shade as it passed through the foliage to finally reach the forest floor.

As they proceeded onward on a trail in the forest to who Kaze mysteriously referred to as "the mage," Lisa suddenly found her and Kaze were the only ones left on the path.

"Kaze, where are we? And don't give me that junk about seeing "the mage" again." Lisa huffed as she avoided yet another lecherous plant. The fact that she didn't have petals or leaves gave them, in their twisted little plant brains, a reason to feel her up. Typical, in this world flowers were sex crazed monsters. But then again, if you were a flower and were continuously groped by bees and your very survival depended on groping I supposed you would be perverted too.

"We're going to seek the advice of the mage, Fungus, on what action we should take in regards to the mad Queen of Hearts Ai, the White Knight Kumo, and your pre-wedding jitters." Kaze calmly replied as he helped Lisa extract herself from the grip of a leafy fern.

"Um... Thanks." Lisa blushed as Kaze knelt to help free her leg from a vine, momentarily forgetting that Kaze had said something important.

"It is my duty." Kaze stood up and brushed some pollen off of Lisa's shoulder, reminding her about last night.

"Kaze," Lisa stepped back bashfully, trying to focus on what she was saying instead of his warmth. "What is between you and me?"  
"You and me? I do not understand."  
Lisa cleared her throat and looked away from his concerned gaze.

"Oh," Kaze stepped around Lisa and sat down on a toadstool, his eyes lingered over her still figure. "I am your knight. You created me."  
"That's impossible!"

"It is true. Your life gave me purpose. I was lost until I found you. I swore my life to you. I will protect you, my lady."

"I'm not..." Lisa turned away from him, fighting tears. What Kaze said touched her heart, but somehow it seemed wrong. Once more Lisa thought of the Kaze she had left behind, how different he was from this Kaze. Kaze, the Kaze before her, had sworn his life to her—to love and protect her. Yet she longed for something else, somebody else. Lisa wished she could be the lady he wanted her to be, the princess that she had replaced by coming here.

Suddenly Lisa wanted Kai by her side. At least with Kai she was sure of her feelings. Both Kaze and Kai had said the same thing, but with Kai, Lisa realized, she felt protected. With Kaze she felt like a sham, a person not worthy of his protection. With Kai Lisa felt like herself. She didn't need to be anyone else, Kai would accept her unconditionally.

Both reminded her of Kaze, but only one could soothe her heart.

"...My lady?"

"Stop." Lisa clenched her hands into fists. Fighting the urge to cry, (there had been too many tears shed already) Lisa decided that she wouldn't run away this time. Reaching out for Kaze, Lisa cupped his face in her hands and smoothed back his hair like she had done to Kai. There was nothing of the Kaze she knew in his face. He only looked like him. "I can't be what you want me to be. I'm sorry."

Lisa let go of him and stepped back, Kaze reached for her and managed to grab her wrist, pulling him to his chest.  
"Kaze!"  
"It doesn't matter to me who you are. You are my lady. I will protect you. Like I have always done."  
Lisa ceased trying to pull away and held on to him. For once everything was absolutely calm; everything other than this moment didn't exist. The fact that he only held her because he believed she was his princess, and the fact that he wasn't the real Kaze, or that she was stuck in this world didn't matter. Only his arms mattered.

"_If only I had fallen in love with you,"_ were Lisa's thoughts. "_If only I had fallen in love with you then I wouldn't be feeling any pain or doubt right now..."_

All of a sudden Kaze pushed Lisa away from him as a gunshot rang out in the forest. Lisa watched in astonishment as the space they had occupied, or rather the space Kaze had occupied, turned to ashes. In one fluid motion Kaze reached into his suit and pulled out a fully transformed magun.

Aiming the gun at a point in the sky, Kaze commanded, "Show yourself."

With the same grace he had used to climb through her window last night, Kai landed effortlessly in front of Kaze and Lisa.

"Kai...?" Lisa was stunned. Why would Kai try to kill Kaze?

"Impostor!" Kai shouted, ignoring Lisa as he aimed his shotgun at Kaze's chest. "I won't allow you to deceive Lisa!"

"Watch your tone, you are speaking to—"

"I know who I'm speaking to, that's exactly why I won't allow you touch her!"

Without another word, Kai fired his gun. Kaze dogged every shot Kai threw at him. With lighting speed, Kaze bridged the gap between him and his opponent till it was a standoff with both of them pointing their guns at the other's head.

Lisa, finally breaking out of her stupor, ran toward the both of them and attempted to lower both of their guns by force.

"Stop it, I won't allow either of you to do this!" Lisa screamed as she futilely continued to try to get them to stand down. Neither one of them budged an inch. Kai's small, childlike face was strained in an expression of the purest hate while Kaze glared back at the boy with no expression at all.

"Don't you see, this world is trying to trick you," Kai spat at Lisa as he pushed her away from the barrel of his shotgun. "_My lady,_ pretty words for someone who's nothing more than an illusion."  
"Oh, I'm quite real. Would a bullet through your head prove it?"

"I said stop!" Lisa struggled to slide between the two, hoping that Kaze's loyalty to her and Kai's promise would prevent further violence.

"Don't be fooled by this...this... Oh screw it!" For once words failed Kai. Finding himself unable to express his hatred or the truth, Kai surprised Lisa and Kaze by grabbing Lisa by the waist and pulling her toward him. Lisa stumbled and fell to her knees, allowing Kai to hold her by the neck with one hand as he pointed his shotgun at her head with the other.

"You...unhand my lady at once." The venom in Kaze's voice was enough to make even Kai wary. Lisa flinched as Kai cocked the shotgun.

"She's not your _lady_," Kai replied. He forced Lisa to stand up and, with the barrel of the gun pointed at her back and keeping a firm hold on her wrist, the two began to walk backward.

"You…no, Kai. You will pay for today. I promise it."

In response, Kai grinned cheekily at Kaze and then turned and ran—forcing Lisa to follow him deeper into the woods.

* * *

"Kai...Kai stop!" Lisa panted. Finally, after what seemed like hours of running aimlessly, Kai released his hold on Lisa and the two collapsed upon the ground.

"What's going on? What do you mean Kaze's an illusion?"

Kai glared at Lisa. "He's not Kaze."

"How do you even know Kaze? And why should I trust you?"

Kai averted his face from Lisa's scrutiny and stood up, stretching out his right hand toward the sky he declared, "You still don't understand."

"Understand what?"  
Kai made a fist with his right hand and then lowered it. "It's not important how I know Kaze. Right now though, we need to find a way to escape from here. Fungus probably knows a way."  
"Isn't Fungus an enemy?"  
"In your world. But here friends are enemies and enemies are friends."

Lisa stood up as well and rubbed her temples. This was giving her a headache. Nothing was making sense. "Alright, so how do with find Fungus?"

As soon as Lisa asked this question a grayish haze of smoke descended upon them. Both of them started coughing violently.  
"My god...what is that?"

"Fungus."

Kai lead Lisa towards a clearing where Fungus resided. Or what appeared to be Fungus.

Smoking a hookah and reclining on a mushroom with a leaf from a nearby plant fanning him, Fungus appeared to be more of a stoned out lump of fungi than a wise sage.

"Um..." Lisa hesitated. Her experience with Yu and Cid made her wary of approaching him. Finally noticing them, Fungus waved them over with one hand while blowing a complicated series of smoke squares.

"....Yes....Princess....of Diamonds..." It seemed to take an eternity for him to speak, probably because his lips were reluctant to leave his precious pipe.

"Princess of Diamonds?" Lisa was confused, this was the first time anyone had actually mentioned the princess's title.

"Queen of Hearts, Princess of Diamonds, like in a pack of cards." Kai added helpfully.

"That... Is...."

"Correct. Just tell us how do we get to the Inner World and out of this trap?"

Suddenly it all made sense; this had to be one of Pist's puzzles. Lisa was both relieved and strangely saddened that the people that she had met and befriended so far, such as Black Knight Kaze and Kai, were not real. Kai's words earlier, about Kaze being an illusion, suddenly made sense.

"You must..."

"Yes." Both Kai and Lisa said at once, impatient for the answer.

"...You must... Go..."  
"Go where!" Lisa shouted, exasperated at Fungus for his inability to finish a sentence.

"You must..." Fungus paused yet again to smoke from his pipe.

Finally, having enough of the dim-witted fungi, Kai aimed his shotgun at the hookah and blew it to pieces.  
It was almost comical the expression on Fungus's face, or what they could make out on his helmeted face, when he realized that his beloved pipe was no more.  
"Now," Kai demanded. "Where do we have to go?"

* * *

It turned out Fungus wasn't too clear on the details. He mentioned that the only way to escape from this world was by going forward, not back, left, or right. Except if by going forward they must go back, left, or right. Or if by going forward they have to go up, or down, sideways, or diagonal. Meaning that either they were heading in the right direction, or Fungus didn't have a clue.

Before they left, Fungus gave them one more helpful piece of advice:

"You... Princess...Only you have the power to make your desires possible. Either by confronting yourself or defeating yourself."

"What do you mean?" Lisa asked. For no reason at all her mind flashed on to the image of the broken mirrors she had encountered before she had become the Princess of Diamonds.

"Only you..." Fungus muttered before falling asleep. It seemed that without his hookah to keep him busy, or helping people escape from magical worlds with hopelessly confusing advice, Fungus was pretty useless.

So without anything else to stop them, Kai and Lisa continued on their way.

Eventually the forest dwindled down to a few tall stalks of grass and they could see the sky once more. If Kaze or anyone else was following them, neither Kai nor Lisa noticed. The two came upon a two story house. The chimney was smoking merrily and from outside they could smell something delicious cooking. Lisa stepped forward warily into the house, ignoring Kai's warnings about how it could be a trap. Trap or not, she was hungry and tired. Whoever decided they wanted to kill or capture her would be getting a knuckle sandwich, plus Lisa was tired of being protected.

As it turned out, they didn't had to fight. The occupants of the house didn't even notice them.

Surrounded by rubbish and running around trying to catch what seemed to be a gigantic baby, was Herba. The baby, it appeared, was the Earl Tyrant.

"Earl-baby, hold still! How else will you get better? Hug-hug, come help me with the baby."

Before Kai and Lisa escape, Herba's pet Hug-hug came out of the kitchen dressed (if an animated evil plant can wear clothes) in a chef's apron and hat holding a pot of what appeared to be either skunk stew or moldy meat simmered in rotten vegetables and broth. The strange thing was, outside of the house the stew had smelled appealing.

Kai hosted his gun and retreated to the shadows, digging through the discarded books for another portal or clue out of here. Lisa skirted around Hug-hug as he set the stew on the table and almost managed to go by unnoticed until she tripped over a forgotten pacifier.

Instantly, the trio turned and noticed Lisa.

"Look, it's Princess-baby!"

"She doesn't look very tasty, too much fat up top." Earl Tyrant commented as he looked Lisa up and down by still struggling in Herba's grasp.

"..." Hug-hug was silent, but slowly moved toward Lisa.

Lisa backed away and kept the insult that she wanted to spit at the Earl to herself. Looking for Kai, the boy once again had disappeared.

"_Dammit, why isn't he ever here when I need him?"_

As the three started to circle Lisa, she put her fists in front of her in a defensive stance. "I don't want any trouble; I'm just looking for a way out of here."

"Princess-baby, we can't just let you leave. It's lunch time..."

As Lisa considered killing Kai if she got out of this one (his advice that enemies were allies proving false), Hug-hug picked her up and settled her into the Earl's high chair. Before Lisa could protest, a bottle—the smallest of two—was placed in her mouth.

Spitting out the contents before she could swallow it, Lisa managed to escape Hug-hug's grasp by throwing random items at him before running away. Running up the stairs, with the Earl, Herba, and Hug-hug on her trail, Lisa barely managed to slam the door behind her after finding a room to hide in.

Now out of harm's way, temporarily, Lisa studied the bottles that she had hastily thrown at Hug-hug. One was a light blue and tiny, half of the liquid still remained, and the other was full and a milky white color. The white bottle was as big as her palm and fit was some difficultly in her dress pocket. Finding an open window, Lisa was just about to dive out of it when the door was blasted down and two new figures stormed in.

"Finally found you!" Ai declared cheerfully while waving both her scepter and Hug-hug's severed head around. It seemed that they really had meant to have her over for lunch. Ai, on the other hand, didn't seem interested in friendly conversations and sandwiches. This was the proverbial jumping from the fire into the frying pan situation.

Lisa leaped away from the window as Ai threw Hug-hug's severed head her way. Now trapped between Ai, her servant White Knight Kumo, and the wall Lisa tried to buy time by reasoning with the young girl.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you want my head?"

Ai laughed, a scornful sound. "You know why? There can only be one!"

"So you'll take her head and become immortal?" Kumo asked stupidly.

Ai turned and whacked her servant upside the head. "Wrong world dumb ass! I want her head because it's pretty and I can't stand it. There should only be one beautiful queen around here, and with you becoming a queen yourself tomorrow now would be the perfect time to attack you before you gain more power. I will take your kingdom, your boy toy Kaze, and then feed your true love Knave to the fishes to be torn apart for all eternity. Now, any last words?"

"Yeah," A voice mocked from out of no where. "Shut. Up."

From behind Lisa, Kai blasted a hole through the wall and then proceeded to tear the house down with his shotgun.

"Kai! Where were you?"  
"No time, just keep behind me, and whatever you do, don't lose those bottles!"

"Oh, this is just perfect!" Ai hissed as she deflected a barrage of bullets with her scepter. "First the Adams Family down below and now a pipsqueak in need of an attitude adjustment! Kumo, kill him and bring me that hussy's head!"

Kumo, in a move that the real Kumo would have approved of, threw up a bottle of mist and cut it in half to summon one of his dragons. Kai, seeing that they wouldn't be able to escape from it, shielded Lisa with his body. Thus, while managing to injure Kai with its attack, the dragon also destroyed the remains of the house and sent the four of them plummeting down two stories amid burning wreckage.

While Ai was cursing Kumo for his stupidity on summoning a dragon while they were still in the building, Lisa took this moment to drag an unconscious Kai out from under the remains of the chimney and make their escape.

However, at that moment the dragon that Kumo had summoned noticed the both of them.

Seconds away from death, Lisa didn't even have time to pray for salvation when three primary colored lights filled her vision and took on the form of a very familiar summoned creature. As Kaze's summoned phoenix filled Lisa's line of view and sheltered both her and Kai with it's wings, Lisa looked on in amazement as both Kaze and Kumo faced each other.

"Didn't I tell you before? I will protect you."  
"Kaze... I...I'm..." Lisa was at a loss for words.

"It doesn't matter, take the boy and run...Lisa. Beyond here lies a doorway. Use the items you obtained and pass through to the Palace of Mirrors. Once inside you should find what you're looking for."

"Oh, this is so very heartwarming. Kumo, get em'!"

Kumo and Kaze locked blades (guns/swords actually) while Ai was blocked from going after Lisa by Kaze's phoenix and Kumo's dragon. Taking this opportunity that Kaze gave her, Lisa ran away from the battlefield with Kai in her arms.

"You should have run away when you had the chance...Black Knight Kaze." Kumo glared at Kaze as the both of them broke away from each other.

"I will not allow you to go any further. Nor will I allow you to harm my princess." Kaze glared back. The two of them were at a stand still, but as long as he could buy time for Lisa it didn't matter if he lost his life. Even if Kai's words were true and he was nothing more than an imitation of the true Kaze, his feelings for Lisa remained the same.

Kaze pointed his magun at Kumo and charged it up for another attack while Kumo threw up another bottle of mist. The resulting explosion of power tore the battleground apart.

* * *

Lisa, carrying an injured and unconscious Kai, managed to make it to the doorway that Kaze had described. However...

"Anyway you look at it, it's just a door propped up in an empty field. There is no palace! What do I do now?" Lisa cried with frustration.

Indeed. The door before Lisa was locked against her and the doorknob refused to move. Not only that, the doorway was too small for even Kai's small frame to pass through.

Almost giving up in despair, Lisa noticed a strange sight in the tree branches above here. At first it appeared to be a single pink pompom floating in the darkness above her head. Slowly, along with the pompom, a cape, broken sunglasses, and a furry body came into view.

"Moggle!"

"Yep, that's my name, don't wear it out." Moggle, Kaze's companion and "brother," stretched and yawned as if this whole drama bored him.

"What are you doing here?"  
"What do you think I'm doing here?"

Lisa, frustrated at the creature, layed down Kai and picked up a rock to hurl at Moggle's head. Moggle dodgef and managed to keep his balance on the tree branch. Instead of being hurt by Lisa's attack, he just started to laugh and smirked down at her.

"Well, your temper hasn't changed. Unfortunately it won't help you against the Queen of Hearts. Anytime now she'll find a way to get pass the Black Knight and then it's "off with her head!" Unless you can figure out this riddle before you."

Lisa, now throughly exhausted, fell into a martial arts stance to begin her Kigen Arts. "If you don't tell me how to get through here, I swear I'll kill you."

Moggle's eyes widened glee instead of fright. "But then you wouldn't hear the riddle now would you?"

"What riddle!"

"What's small of size, tender of shape, and easy to break yet hard to make? What's weak yet strong, treacherous yet kind and hard to find? What can only be nurtured with two, yet can only be reared by one?"

"That is... That's..." Lisa stumbled over words as she tried to find the answer. She had never been good at riddles, and this one made no sense to her at all. In truth, even if it had made sense Lisa's mind was too full of thoughts of Kai to fully comprehend what Moggle was asking of her. Kai had sacrificed himself for her sake. If not for her he wouldn't be injured. There was no way he could have taken down Kumo, yet for her he had bravely risked his life.

Kai...Kaze... In Lisa's mind and heart the two were starting to overlap.

"Lisa..."

A small voice distracted Lisa from her inner torment. While Lisa knelt by Kai's side, Moggle took this moment to make his exit and disappeared the same way he had appeared.

Now that Lisa had the time to examine him, she could see that a gaping wound in Kai's side was bleeding profusely. There was no way that she could stop the bleeding or save his life at this rate. Lisa, holding back a sob in her throat, tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure with her hands.

"Kai, I'm so sorry. If not for me...If you hadn't... I'm sorry!"

Incredibly, Kai started to chuckle at Lisa's tender expression and the predicament they were in that had produced it.  
"I'm really not cool... Am I? This was exactly why I didn't want you to get in my way, yet this time, in this body, I can't even protect you."  
"Kai..."

From far away they could hear the sounds of the ground being torn apart by Kumo's dragon and Kaze's phoenix. Lisa was too occupied thinking of ways to save him that she couldn't focus on the meaning of his cryptic words.

Lisa started to cry. It seemed that crying was the only thing she was good for now. Unable to save Kai, unable to help Kaze, and completely useless to change her fate Lisa didn't know what else to do.

Kai reached up and softly touched her cheek. "It's okay. You're strong."

"I'm not strong! Even though I said I would help you find your home, even though I said I would stay by your side and protect you, you're—"

"I'm the one that broke that promise. Not you."

"Kai..."

Kai, unable to face Lisa's tears, turned his eyes toward the doorway. "...Even now, I can't say what I want to say even if it's like this. Even though I can finally say it, even though I'm not tied down by any restraints in this body, it seems that clone of mine is really better than me after all. He can say all the things that you want to hear, yet I can only hurt you."

"You never hurt me." Lisa held Kai's hand in hers. She closed her eyes against the fading warmth in his fingers. "You're always there for me, even when I didn't believe in you. You're wrong, more than Kaze I want you."

Kai's eyes widened in shock, Lisa smiled through her tears. The ground shook beneath their feet and the light from the sky began to fade as smoke and mist replaced sunlight.

"...You should go. Use those bottles you found. Inside one of them should be a potion that will open the door."  
"Kai—!"

"Just go," Kai pushed Lisa away from him and then gripped his side in pain. The wound in his side bleed profusely and stained his hands and the ground red. "You don't have much time. Forget about me."

"No!"

"The answer... The answer to the riddle is..." At that moment Kai passed out. The life threating injury was too much for his small body to handle.

"Kai..." Lisa reached for Kai and touched his face, his hands, and his shoulders. They were all cold. This time in place of Moggle and Kai she began to inanely laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Why was she the only one left? Why Kai, why not her?

Dimly, the logical part of her brain told her she was going into shock.

"Please! Please... Don't leave me alone! I—"

"_What's small of size, tender of shape, and easy to break yet hard to make? What's weak yet strong_—_"_

"—I love you."

"—_treacherous yet kind and hard to find? What's can only be nurtured with two, yet can only be reared by one? The answer is a loving heart."_

At that moment, Lisa distinctively heard the sound of a small lock falling to the ground. Cradling Kai with one hand, Lisa fished in her pocket for the bottles. Only one of them could help them escape from here.  
Choosing the smallest bottle, the one whose contents she had almost been forced to drown by Herba and her servant, Lisa transferred the contents to her mouth before leaning over Kai's prone body and placing her mouth over his. With a minimum amount of difficulty she managed to successfully transfer the contents of the bottle through mouth to mouth.

When Lisa looked up, she and Kai were in what appeared to be a world of shinning glass and silver.

They had reached the Palace of Mirrors. Surrounding them were mirrored walls reflecting their image and none of the mirrors were broken. In the center of the room was a platform with a single mirror atop. The platform was too large for Lisa to climb.

Lisa stood up and gently laid Kai at her feet. Taking out the remaining bottle, Lisa drank its contents and now found herself standing on the platform in front of the lone mirror. It was the same mirror which had pulled her through her world to this wonderland where she had encountered twisted versions of her friends and loved ones. Where her dreams and nightmares had merged together and where she had lost Kai after realizing her feelings for him and Kaze, the real Kaze and the man that Kai reminded her of.

The Lisa in the mirror smiled at her. The mirror Lisa folded its hands in front of itself, despite the sinister smile and lack of blood, grit, or grime; it could have been Lisa's twin. Wearing an elegant white dress and diamond crown, this was the real Princess of Diamonds.

"Let me go back to my world!"

The Princess of Diamonds tilted her head, as if Lisa's question made no sense to her. "Real world? Isn't this it?"

"No!" Lisa shouted.

The Princess and Lisa stepped closer together, separated only by the pane of glass. Suddenly the Princess was Lisa and Lisa was the Princess. Both had lost their glamor or disheveled appearance and were wearing the exact same gear Lisa had always worn, but in back of one was the hall of mirrors and in back of the other, in the distance, was the Comodeen and the jungle that had brought Lisa to this place.

"You say you want to go back," the Princess shifted so that now Kaze could be seen in the background. "But if you go back then things will return to the way they were before. You'll never gain his love."

"But I'll gain his respect. I'll be by his side. I don't need a Kaze that would bow before me."

In the background, the Kaze behind the Princess turned into Black Knight Kaze and bowed elegantly to her, as if congratulating her on realizing her error.

The Princess moved again, this this time to the left. Now the crew of the Comodeen and Ai and Yu could be seen. "But if you go back, you will lose all power. You will be useless to those you love and become helpless. Here you can have anything you want. You will never feel unwanted. You will become omnipotent and all will look up to you."

Lisa shook her head. "I don't need that kind of power. Kai was right. I am strong. Strong enough to stand up to your temptations. Fungus was right too, only I have the power to make my desires come true. I don't want to be all powerful, no one is, I just want to help the people I love anyway I can. I'm not unwanted, and I'm not helpless."

Behind the Princess, Ai and Yu and everyone waved at Lisa and then turned into the stuffed animal servants of the Princess of Diamonds and continued to cheer her on. Even Mad Hatter Yu, the Queen of Hearts Ai, and White Knight Kumo supported Lisa beyond the mirror.

The Princess of Diamonds snarled at Lisa, her face becoming a mockery of the Kigen Arts master as the mirror started to shatter.

"You! You will regret refusing me!"

Lisa reached out and gathered the spirits around her. Summoning the Kigen Dragon, Lisa felt as if Kai was there too, supporting her.

"I regret nothing! I am Lisa Pacifist, and I am _not_ you or your puppet!"

Lisa shattered the mirror with her own power, the Princess of Diamonds screamed and disappeared along with the mirror shards. Behind the mirror, an infinite darkness gaped and threatened to suck Lisa into it. Lisa shielded her face with her arms from the brute force of the wind.

"Lisa," Kai's voice could be heard over the scream of the wind as it turned into a cyclone and Lisa lost her balance and fell through the mirror into the world beyond.

"Lisa, I believe in you. Thank you for loving me. And Kaze as well."

* * *

Lisa's journey had taken two horrific days and nights to complete, yet to Kaze (the real Kaze) it had only been a few hours since Lisa had left.

Ai and Yu called out Lisa's name as the Comodeen shined its spotlights to help in the search for the missing woman.  
When Kaze found Lisa, she was lying unconscious on the grass as if she were sleeping. Lisa opened her eyes as Kaze knelt down by her side to check her pulse.

"Kaze... Is it really you?"

Kaze just stared back at her; the one blue eye that could be seen was as expressionless as always. Lisa chuckled and rubbed her weary eyes. She was back. Yet...somehow it felt as if she were missing something.

A memory, or a dream, passed through her mind of a little boy in a black cloak looking up at her and smiling sadly. The boy had Kaze's eyes. Now that she had time to reflect, Lisa thought (before the image vanished completely from her brain along with the memory of the events in that odd world), the boy bore a strong resemblance to Kaze. Maybe that is what Kaze had looked like as a child.

"_I will protect you..."_ Whose voice had uttered such loving words?

Kaze helped Lisa to stand. Lisa's head was spinning, she was so confused and disoriented that for a moment she almost didn't hear what Kaze was saying.

"...You kept your promise. And I kept mine. Welcome home."

Lisa's eyes widened in astonishment as, for only an instant so fleeting that if she had blinked Lisa would have surely missed it, Kaze smiled.

"Ah... Thank you?" Lisa stuttered as Kaze grasped her elbow to help Lisa keep her balance. It felt as if, for a second, Kaze had hinted at something that Lisa should remember but didn't. It was something about helping someone find their way home... Someone who had promised someone something... However Lisa would have remembered if she had promised someone something, much less if she had helped someone find their way.

As Lisa stood there staring into Kaze's eyes, she remembered what she had always wanted to say to him. But just as she was about to apologize for her behavior earlier, Ai and Yu finally found them and Kaze let go of Lisa and began walking away as the twins hugged Lisa and apologized for being so mean to her.

Lisa watched Kaze walk away from them, and then followed after him with Ai and Yu trailing after her. Neither one of them noticed the broken shards of mirror left behind or the tiny bottle with one drop remaining in it.

(6/2/09)

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I also apologize to everyone that was begging me to update, I received so many kind reviews for this fan fiction asking for the next chapter that it almost brought me to tears myself. (So much crying in this chapter, lol) Thank you everyone for the support. I would also like to thank Wikipedia and the livejournal community the_comodeen for their help on special attacks and character names.

As a special gift to everyone, I will also post the next chapter as well (which I wrote a while ago, but held back from posting because I wanted to continue the "Wonderland" arc before moving on).

I hope everyone enjoyed this story and will continue to read "7 Days."


	5. Friday

**Author's Notes:** Valentine's Day is upon us, so I decided to post this series up and dedicate it too all the lovers out there...all the lovers that have gotten this far into my series and reviewed that is. Also, now that I review my previously written author's notes, Valentine's Day is over. (lol) Well, good riddance then!

Anyway, another Kaze and Lisa one shot. Thank you so much for your kind reviews, I really appreciate them. I know there is not much of a fan base out there for this couple, this very impossible couple (there's like a 1% chance of them ever being a couple, but that's the same chance of almost any relationship in FFU, including Kaze and Kumo or any of the other romance fics I've seen on this site), but I want to continue writing what I like and I think that's what fan fiction is all about. I won't even attempt to write like the original creators of FFU because, frankly, I'm not them. But if you can forgive me for my eccentrics I think we'll get along fine.

Usually I don't try to milk out the reviews with the statement "review or I won't update!", that's kind of immature, but a review would be good if I am entertaining you. After all, I wrote this for fans like me so some support is in order.  
In other news, yet another KxL fic.

Title: Irreplaceable

Summary: (After FFU: After) Lisa cleans out her old apartment she shared with Dolk and Kaze ends up helping her put away a few memories and mementos of the past. A very uplifting Grief/Comfort and Friendship one-shot.

* * *

"It Doesn't Take Seven Days to Love You..."

--7 Days--

Friday

"Are these the last of the boxes?"  
"I think so," Lisa replied over her shoulder. "Maybe there are more in the attic?"

Lisa watched as Ai and Yu scrambled back up stairs and headed for the attic, arguing over who was going to get up there first.  
Lisa shook her head. It must be nice to be young. She glanced at her watch, it was a quarter to five. The movers would be here any second. After that she would have to get moving herself. Then Lisa checked to make sure that her hair and new gray pants suit were not messed up from sorting what would go and what would stay. She couldn't take everything to the US. After the fiasco with Chaos the agency thought it best to pawn her off on another branch.

The bell rang and Lisa went to answer it, tripping over a pair of the twins shoes. Lisa cursed and fumbled for the door knob while rubbing her injured knee. For all the trouble that she had to go through to open the door, Lisa thought, it ought to be the movers.  
Instead it was Kaze.

For a moment, Lisa's breath left her chest. How did he know where she lives—lived now. More importantly, since when had he gotten back?

Before Lisa could invite him inside, Kaze effortlessly slid past Lisa and headed up stairs. For once Lisa voiced her discontent.

"Just because I don't own this apartment anymore doesn't mean you can just go where you please!"

First the twins, now this. And of course the movers were late.

Lisa followed Kaze up the familiar path of steps and down the hall to what used to be, in a world before Chaos and adventures in the outer world, Lisa and Dolk's bedroom.

Sunlight invaded the small living space, illuminating the now empty white walls and the full bed that had always been too small for the two of them. The sunlight fell upon the empty dresser and the numerous keys and key holders that it still held. Somehow Lisa just couldn't bring herself to pack them, but the thought of leaving them behind filled her with a sorrow that just wouldn't go away no matter how much time passed.

Lisa, ignoring Kaze who had settled himself on the balcony and was now staring down at the city below, walked toward the desk and began going through Dolk's things. Here was his comb, and of course that obnoxious aftershave that he only stopped wearing after Lisa had threatened to light him on fire the next time he wore it. And here, here was the picture of the two of them on their first date. It hadn't really been a date at all because they were both on duty at the time, but Dolk had pulled some strings so they could work together.

And here, here was the place where she had thrown his half of their key chain, the chain that she had bought him as an expression of love. When she had thrown it here, among the various other ruins of their life together, was after Kaze had left and taken Chaos with him. When Dolk died, Lisa almost lost her mind with grief. His smell had still been on the bedsheets, as if he had just stepped out instead of died. As if time had stopped and rewound itself and Dolk would step into the bedroom with the same goofy smile as always and chastise her for crying.  
But of course, time can not stop. Or rewind.

"Lisa."  
Lisa wiped her eyes and turned toward Kaze. It was the first time he had ever said her name.

"What is it? I have to leave in an hour for the airport. I'm really glad you're back though, you can properly apologize for leaving before you walk out on the twins again."  
It was cruel, and she shouldn't have said it, but Lisa needed some outlet and Kaze seemed convenient. Besides, he had walked out on the twins. Also, they were the only ones that had really missed Kaze. Lisa had spent the last two months trying to forgive him after a long period of hatred and grief, placing the blame of Dolk's death first on Kaze's shoulders and then her own.

However, she could not blame Chaos. Chaos, even though it had come to them in many forms, still seemed a meaningless and shapeless being. Like a hurricane that had come through, shaken things up, and then dropped them all on their heads. Without a face, a _true_ face, and without a way to kill it Lisa had stopped trying to accept it entirely.

Lisa was reminded of Chaos as Kaze stepped toward her and held out his hand. In it was a small battered velvet box. It seemed to have been dragged through all the hell Kaze had been through to attain it.

Lisa numbly took it and opened it. Inside was a small one carat diamond, princess cut, on a yellow gold band. It looked cheap, tarnished, and battered. However, on the inside of the band was an inscription that must have cost more than the diamond:

_To L from D_

From far away came the memory of the last time she and Dolk had been together. Lisa had been telling him about her new assignment. Dolk had listened quietly, his hand in his pocket the whole while.

"_I won't be away for long. Of course it will be difficult to locate the Hayakawas, but as soon as I do I'll be back. Three months at least."_ Those three months had turned into a year.

Dolk had nodded his head, and then hesitated before he spoke next. _"You won't meet someone else while I'm gone... Will you?"_ He turned it into a joke by chuckling at the end and flashing her a smile. Lisa had smacked him on the arm and laughed along with him.

"_I should be more worried about you. You couldn't find your way out of a paper bag!"_

"_But you're not worried about me meeting someone else?"_

Lisa turned toward the sea, and then back to him. They were standing on the observation tower over looking the sea. _"I'm worried that you'll forget me. That I might not come back. That's the worse case __scenario, that I might become lost. Then again, who would want a man that's always losing his keys?"_

"_Lisa—"_

"_And always forgets where he parks, and—"_

Dolk held up his hands. _"Alright, I get it. But just in case you do get lost, I'll find you,"_ Dolk reached out for her hand and squeezed it, his warm hands covering her own and full of strength and love for her. _"I won't forget you. I'll find you if you get lost."  
"And if you get lost as well?"  
"Then we'll be lost together."_

They had kissed then, and then they had went home and made love for the last time with a strange intensity which Lisa had misinterpreted as anxiety over a long separation. Now she knows that they were expressing their feelings toward each other with their bodies. They hadn't even said "I love you" to each other. Both had thought it wasn't needed. It still is unneeded.

In this room, she could feel him. His presence, his gentle warmth that enveloped everything, coming not only from the walls itself but the ring now in her hand. He had placed his hands in his pockets the whole time, this is what he had wanted to give her.

If she hadn't left, Lisa thought as her other hand closed over the ring and blocked it from sight, then he would still be alive. He had kept his promise. She now knew Dolk had been captured while trying to find her.  
"Kaze..." Lisa's voice broke as she addressed the older man in front of her, the man that had risked his life to bring her this ring. "I... I..."

I love him, is what Lisa wanted to say. I love him and it hurts so bad, so very bad that I don't know if I can go on. I don't know if I can go on living without him.

Lisa closed her eyes as she felt the first tears slips past her eyelids and on to her cheeks, hot and burning. She hadn't thought she had any tears left to spill.

So she wouldn't drop the ring, or collapse entirely, Kaze enveloped her in an awkward embrace.  
He smelled from his journey, and his cloak was dusty and even scorched in some places, but Lisa held on to him and cried as if Dolk had just been killed instead of dead for over a year.

"I... He... Dolk... Thank you." Lisa finally managed to tell Kaze as she lifted her head and pulled away from him. "Thank you. This...means so much to me. I don't know what to say."

Instead of replying, Kaze touched Lisa's hand that held the ring and then his own reminder of the past: His earring.

He too knew pain. Because of it Lisa found it in her heart to truly forgive him.

"Lisa, where do you want—Kaze!" Ai and Yu ran into the room upon seeing their former traveling companion and immediately attacked him with a barrage of questions.  
Lisa had a few questions of her own, but instead of voicing them she wiped her eyes and pocketed the engagement ring. Seeing Kaze look off into the distance as Ai and Yu jumped around him trying to get his attention, Lisa knew that he would be gone soon. Whether Chaos was gone or not, Kaze still had to settle things with Kumo. Besides, he (and Lisa herself) were still on a journey.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang. The movers were finally here.

Furiously wiping at the last of her tears, Lisa ushered Ai and Yu downstairs while Kaze left via the balcony. As the door closed on what had been her life, Lisa smiled and welcomed the moving men inside. It was a start, the beginning, of moving on.

(7 Days—Friday—End 2/22/09)

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Contrary to the title, this fic was about putting to rest memories and grief. Or maybe the title suits it perfectly because there are some things that can never be put away, even if you do move on with your life. I, like many die-hard (or not so die hard) FFU fans, have read the translation of FFU: After, After 2, and After Spiral and not only am I not satisfied with it, I happen to think that its explanation of Chaos was shoddy. Also, while I do applaud them for including some background on characters such as Lisa, Kumo, and Kaze, it never does explain what happened to turn Dolk into a slave of Chaos. Why did he turn evil? How? I attempted to give my own hypothesis during the writing of this fic. Plus, there should be some Dolk and Lisa fan fiction on this site since they are the most obvious (and the only official couple besides maybe Aura and Kumo). And since I like Lisa, I decided to write (yet another) fic about her and her side of the story. I hope to someday to continue "Shell" and "Half Pain" and start on a Dolk and Lisa fan fiction as well.

Finally, I really liked Kaze's character in this. I was influenced somewhat by my friend (who knows who he/she is) to include the detail about Kaze's odor in this. It's a long standing joke of ours that Kaze probably doesn't take too many baths.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope to see you again next time.


	6. Saturday

**Author's Notes:** "Sorry it's been a long time since I've updated," is really something I should say to the people waiting anxiously for an update on my Inuyasha stories. I really have no excuse for this, and I'm really sorry, but if you are one of those people waiting please wait a little more. Anyway, this is the second to the last chapter of "7Days." I hope those reading this have enjoyed this series and forgiven me for any liberties that I have taken with the series and the characters. This chapter is not and exception.

I look forward to seeing you all again, FFU fans, in my next story "Thin Line Between Love and Hate." If anyone who has seen that movie or are the makers of that movie, are concerned about it being a parody of the movie, no it will not follow the plot. I am just borrowing the title. Just like I'm borrowing the title of a song for this story.

Anyway, on to the story.

Title: You Make Me Want to Be a Man

Summary: It would be nice if we could know everything that the person we love is thinking, wouldn't it? Sometimes too much is, well, too much! When one of Cid's many experiments go wrong, Kaze and Lisa end up switching bodies! Can the both of them find a way out of this situation, or will Kaze end up wearing mini-skirts permanently?

* * *

"It Doesn't Take Seven Days to Love You..."

--7 Days--

Saturday

"Why am I stuck doing this with you?"

Lisa grabbed another heavy science volume and headed toward the designated box. Kaze leaned against the wall, a broom at his side.

"After all, you're the one that broke Cid's machine."

Lisa continued her one sided conversation by cleaning out the storage shed in the Comodeen with Kaze. To be truthful, Kaze was just standing there watching her move boxes and Lisa was doing all the work sweeping, categorizing, and moving things to the spaces Cid had marked out on the floor.

Lisa wiped the sweat off her brow and stood up. I guess it had been too naïve to think her and the kids would get a free meal with no work. Between Chaos, the Earl, and Kaze, Lisa had her work cut out for her. Not to mention her mission.

Lisa stooped to pick up a heavy crate when she heard Cid enter dramatically, still cradling his precious machine.

"Aw, are you okay now Elaine? What have those evil humans done to you?"

"Thanks for the help, Cid." Lisa mumbled. It wasn't her fault. Kaze was the one who had blown the dang thing up; the only thing she had done was be at his side and take most of the blame for it. _"Like she was Kaze's keeper or something," _Lisa thought as she blew her bangs out of her eyes.

Besides, none of this would have happened if Cid hadn't made a gadget that projected an image of the enemies they had encountered so far. He should have known better than to turn it on around Kaze. If he had just left that one image of Kumo out then nothing would have happened. But of course not! When did men every listen to women? Lisa had tried to warn him it would be a bad idea, but Cid went along with it anyway and she got all the blame.

Lisa finally made it across the room and set down the crate in her arms when suddenly the ship lurched to the side, it had been rammed by something. Lisa went flying head over heels and the cart with her. Her body braced itself as she expected to crash into the wall; however, instead of the hard concrete Kaze effortlessly caught her in mid air.

Just as Lisa was about to thank him a bright flash distracted the both of them, it was the contents of the crate spilling out. A cylinder machine about the size of Kaze's gun arm and flew out and hit the ground. A button on it depressed and the whole thing bounced up again with the movement of the ship just in time to hit both Kaze and Lisa with a blinding beam of light.

Lisa and Kaze shut their eyes, trying to shield themselves from the light, but it was two late and both of them were enveloped in it. The ship finally came to rest peacefully as the light faded. Cid poked out behind a toppled over bookshelf, timidly looking at what remained of his lab.

Someone groaned and Cid finally came out behind his bookcase, coming to the aid of Kaze who was spread out on top of Lisa. He had tried to shield her from the full force of the light ray before the both of them hit the ground.  
"Are you okay Kaze?" Cid asked. He expected for Kaze to get up at any moment and shoot him for what had happened. After all it was his fantastic Cindy that had hit the both of them. Now that Cid thought about it, wasn't Cindy the teleporter he was working on?

Lisa groaned once again and sat up. Her body felt so heavy. And her hair? Oh no, it had come out of its braid again hadn't it? She simply couldn't do anything with it! But now wasn't the time to think about hair. Lisa tried to raise her right hand to her head only to encounter cold metal instead of warm flesh. Finally looking at her hand, Lisa's eyes saw not her hand but Kaze's gold Magun. Searching for her arm, still not realizing what had just transpired, Lisa finally spotted…Lisa?

Glancing comically from Kaze's arm to her body, Lisa finally freaked out and screamed.

Cid jumped back as Kaze screamed, like a girl, and stood up. The gunslinger looked from Lisa's prone body to his own several times before raising both arms and, what appeared to Cid, beating his own head.

Lisa, or Kaze in Lisa's body, tried to pull her hair out, hoping that the pain would bring some relief and wake her up from this night mare, but moving Kaze's limbs was still too difficult for her and no matter what she didn't she couldn't wake up.

"Why is this happening to me!?"

"Kaze?" Cid asked timidly.

"All I wanted to do was clean up, take a bath, get back to my world and marry Dolk and now I'm stuck here in Kaze's body!" Lisa screamed up to the sky. "Why do you hate me lord!?"  
"Shut up…" Kaze, in Lisa's body but not realizing it, mumbled as he started to wake up. As Lisa continued to rant about how bad her life is and why god hates her, Kaze finally had enough and sat up. It was almost funny how Lisa's facial features warped to give a very Kaze like glare to, well, Kaze. Glaring at himself, Kaze finally realized what had happened. Looking between his new body and his old one, Kaze brought his new hands up to his face, clenching and unclenching them as Lisa continued to freak out.

"What did I do to deserve this!?" Lisa moaned, finally settling down. The weight of Kaze's Magun dragged her to the floor. Cid, still bewildered and mimicking Kaze and Lisa, look from one of them to the other. In his arms he cradled the very machine that had been responsible for their body switch.

"My Cindy works?" Cid asked in amazement. His words made both Kaze and Lisa notice him.

"What do you mean **works**?" Kaze asked, standing up and marching toward Cid dangerously. He didn't have his shotgun, but he was willing to see if he could strangle Cid with his brand new hands.

Lisa glared at Cid, tears in her eyes as she pointed at him. "You did this to me! How could you?"

Kaze stopped in his tracks and glared at Lisa, "Don't whine in my body."

"Oh," Lisa said, lowering her voice and to imitate Kaze. ""Don't whine in my body," I didn't hear saying anything earlier when I was the one doing all the work or when you got us in to this situation by being trigger happy. You're the one who got us in this situation!"

Kaze looked positively livid. Unable to control his emotions in Lisa's body, his face flushed red and adavnaed toward Lisa instead of Cid. Staring up at himself brought upon a feeling of vertigo, but Kaze kept glaring as he hissed at Lisa, "Will you ever shut up?"

Lisa closed her mouth, drawing her lips into a thin line before she screamed down at Kaze, praying that her own eardrums wouldn't burst. "NO!"

Cid just managed to escape before Kaze struck Lisa across the face with her own fist, unperturbed that he had just hit himself. Lisa erupted into tears (which were more comic than tragic in Kaze's body) and then pushed past Kaze and ran, shouting "jerk!" at the top of her lungs.

Kaze, finding Lisa's body too lightweight after being shoved aside, swayed on his feet before falling down on his rump. Or on Lisa's rump considering that he was in her body. He couldn't even say a word as he watched himself shove past a growing crowd of Comodeen crew and embrace Ai in tears, pointing at him as the cause of her mental and physical anguish. Everyone did a double take as Lisa, in Kaze's body, cried and Kaze, in Lisa's body, stood up and began shouting at her to not do cry in his body.

It looked like both Kaze and Lisa would be spending a lot more time together than either of them thought possible.

(7Days—Saturday—4/8/10)

**Author's Notes:** I would finish this, but I think I'll end it here for now. I know that some people may have (hopefully) been waiting anxiously for a chapter so I won't drag this out and make it another 2-parter for now. The chapter I was going to have up originally for Sunday I'll have to make into a one-shot or something when I have time. I'm really sorry for taking almost a year to update.


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